| Welcome
to the issue 12 of the weekly Polar Money Tips
newsletter. This week we explain how you can save
money by not automatically renewing your insurance
policy but by shopping around.
We
also explain how homeowners with debt who have
bought their home under the Right To Buy scheme
could save money by paying off those debts using
the equity in their property.
Don't
renew - review!
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 |
|
 If
one of your insurance policies is coming
up to renewal – for example, your
household, motor, pet or annual travel
insurance policy – don’t
automatically accept that your current
insurer is offering you the best deal
there is.
Most
insurers know that when it comes to
renewal time, around 70% of their customers
will accept the quote, without even
seeing if they could get it cheaper
elsewhere. This could be because they
feel don’t have the time or the
inclination to bother or genuinely believe
they are being offered the best deal
there is.
However,
this complacency could cost the consumer
tens – even hundreds – of
pounds. By shopping around, you could
save yourself a hefty wad of cash and
it doesn’t have to be a time consuming
exercise.
Many
online insurance websites – such
as www.moneysupermarket.com
and our sister website www.polarinsurance.co.uk
- have tools which search the insurance
marketplace for you, finding some of
the best deals available. And it is
simple to do .. in most cases, you simply
enter your details just once and a list
of insurance policies that match your
needs will be displayed – along
with the premium.
And
while the average consumer is probably
sick of being told that “you must
shop around” even the Financial
Services Authority (FSA) - which is
the independent regulator set up by
Government to look after the financial
services industry and protect consumers
– advocates it! Check
out their online guide here
Do
note that when looking for a cheaper
deal, whilst price is important, don’t
compromise on cover. There may be an
attractive deal, but the cover may not
be adequate for your needs, so always
compare any new quote on a like for
like basis with your existing cover.
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|
Take
a quick trip to marbles |
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|
If a marbles credit card were a city it’d
be Barcelona – funky, cosmopolitan, nice
to look at and decent value for money.
You get an excellent 0%
pa fixed for 6 months from account opening
on balance transfers, plus a fantastic
0.5% cashback on all purchases. Once
the six months are up, it will revert
to a variable rate. Typical
**11.9% APR** (variable).
So just apply
now.
You also get cool stuff like free travel
accident insurance* and exclusive offers
from our travel partners as well as
up to 52 days' interest free credit
and of course no tedious annual fee.
For a decision in principle in 60 seconds,
as well as more info about marbles,
click
here
Important,
please read the following information
before you apply. marbles
credit card is issued by HFC Bank Limited
and is only available to persons aged
21 or over, who are resident in the
U.K. or Channel Islands and who are
not already (or have not recently been)
marbles card account holders and is
subject to status and conditions. If
you do not qualify for a marbles credit
card, we may, with your specific permission
only, pass on your details to other
divisions of HFC Bank Limited, who may
be able to offer you an alternative
credit card product. Written quotations
are available on request from marbles,
PO Box 3615, Birmingham B3 2RJ. marbles
and marbles card are trading names of
HFC Bank Limited. HFC Bank Limited is
a member of the Financial Ombudsman
Scheme (further details are available
upon request) and is regulated by the
Financial Services Authority.
*Terms
and Conditions apply.
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|
MONEY
SAVING SNIPPET – Are you a bookworm?
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|  If
you are the sort of person who always
has their nose in a book, you probably
spend hundreds of pounds a year on them.
Why not save money and use your local
lending library instead? It’s
free and in most cases they can even
order in a book if you request it. For
example, if you read two books a month,
that’s an annual saving of around
£170!
|
Use
council bonus to consolidate your debts
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|
|  Many
tenants who buy their rented council
property under the Right To Buy scheme
are unaware that if they have other
debts, these can be paid off by taking
a loan out against the equity in their
property.
When Mr. H. from London bought his rented
council house last year, he had other
financial commitments that he was also
paying off – a hotch-potch of
debts (credit cards, store cards etc)
on which he was paying high interest
charges.
Mr.
H was unaware that, like many people
who get a mortgage under the Right To
Buy scheme, his property was worth much
more than the mortgage he had on it
(he paid £35,000 for his home
and it was valued at £190,000).
Because
he had all this equity in the property,
Mr H. could have taken out a debt consolidation
loan (which would be secured against
his property) to clear his other debts,
meaning he’d be paying lower monthly
repayments and lower interest charges.
This is because a consolidation loan
should reduce the amount of interest
currently being charged on other debts.
Also,
he would have been paying just one manageable
monthly outgoing for the loan repayment
as opposed to a myriad of monthly demands.
If
you have equity in your property, whether
you bought it under a Right To Buy scheme
or under a standard mortgage scheme
and you have debts you want to consolidate,
why not visit our free Loan
Calculator at the foot
of our home page?
Simply
enter in the amount of debt you currently
have, selecting how long you’d
like to repay the loan for. A monthly
repayment figure will then be displayed
– compare this to your current
monthly repayments and you’ll
have a good idea as to whether a debt
consolidation loan could be right for
your circumstances.
For
more on Right To Buy mortgages, click
here
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| Tell Us What You Think |
|
| We would love to hear what you think of this issue of Polar
Money Tips. And of course,
if you have any suggestions for upcoming
issues that you'd like to share with
us, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at: moneytips@polarloans.co.uk
PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL!
|
|
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feel free to pass this around to friends and family!
They will thank you for it! PolarLoans.co.uk is
a trading style of J2-Squared Limited. For our site
Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy please click
here |
In
This Issue:
- Take
a quick trip to marbles
- MONEY
SAVING SNIPPET
- Use
council bonus to consolidate your debts
Polar
Services
PolarLoans
Polar
Mortgages
Polar
Insurance
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